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WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service) — Promising to take care of military veterans
is an easy win for presidential candidates.

All of them agree on the need to overhaul the scandal-riddled U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs and end delays in accessing the health care that veterans were
promised. This is especially a key issue in the South Carolina primary, where veterans
make up 11 percent of the adult population.

White House hopefuls have stressed the issue in debates and town halls. But a closer
look at their public platforms shows a vast discrepancy in the level of detail in
their plans, ranging from footnoted documents of seven-step plans to bullet points
to a single flashcard.

Which of the candidates have detailed plans that would address the kinds of problems
faced by the Williams Jennings Bryan Dorn Medical Center in Columbia, S.C.: long
wait times for appointments, concerns about benefits and difficulty in promptly
reaching VA representatives? The hospital was one of the most dire examples of the
systemic issues facing the VA when 2014 investigations exposed that a number of
veterans were dying after long waits and delayed care.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush rolled out his plan to overhaul the VA last August.
He focuses on giving veterans the ability to choose among health care providers,
enhancing services for female veterans and modernizing the VA clinics.

He briefly mentions his Florida record before launching into an annotated seven-step
plan. Bush says he would find the extra funds by cutting excess administrators and
eliminating "billions in waste, fraud and abuse." This would include more competitive
bidding for department contracts and firing poorly performing employees.

Bush also proposes some technological improvements. His plan suggests teaming up
with the private sector to create a secure online credential that can prove residents'
status as veterans. In his plan, public-private partnerships would also replace
"shoddy software" that makes it difficult for veterans to refill prescriptions online,
a feature he points out is available at most pharmacies across the country.

Donald Trump is the candidate who has drawn the most public attention to veterans
issues by skipping the Iowa debate to hold a fundraiser and often making veteran
supporters a key focus of his rallies. He released his own plan last October, which
like Bush's centers on allowing veterans to see private doctors. He also proposes
modernizing the VA, expanding investment in technology, embedding clinics in rural
areas and firing incompetent executives.

Trump said his proposed changes would cost less than the current system because
he would eliminate inefficiencies. His plan does not include details about how much
it would cost or how he would pay for the changes. A campaign representative did
not return calls requesting additional comment.

Despite his vocal support for veterans' advocacy, Trump turned off many in the military
community when he denigrated Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain's military service
during the Vietnam War. His rally in Iowa was also criticized by many veterans groups,
who said he was using them as a political prop.

Hillary Clinton proposed a plan to revamp the VA in November, promising that as
president she would push for more coordination among different insurance providers
and allow for some private-sector care "when it makes sense to do so." Her plan
includes establishing a new oversight governance board. Clinton goes into detail
about her opposition to privatizing the department, which she says would send veterans
into a health care market that is poorly suited to their needs. In an extensive
section on overhauling the VA, she says she would revamp performance evaluations
and bolster whistle-blower protections in the department.

A few weeks before she released her plan, Clinton was criticized for suggesting
that the scandal about the VA's long wait times and delayed care had been exaggerated
by Republicans for political gain. "It's not been as widespread as it has been made
out to be," she said during an MSNBC interview.

Marco Rubio's public platform about veterans' issues on his campaign website focuses
on his record in Congress. It highlights his work on legislation with House Committee
on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller that allowed the VA secretary to fire
employees who weren't doing their jobs.

Similar to Bush's and Trump's plans, he proposes allowing veterans to use their
health care funds to see approved private-sector providers of their choice. He does
not give details.

Some groups have pointed out that the Veterans Choice program, part of the Veterans
Access, Choice and Accountability Act signed into law by President Barack Obama
in 2014, already allows veterans to access federally paid medical care from non-VA,
local doctors.

Bernie Sanders' public platform on veterans' issues focuses heavily on his record
in the Senate. He offers only five brief bullets points as a plan, including fully
funding and expanding the VA and offering improved dental and mental care.

Sanders has been vocal on veterans' issues since the beginning of his campaign.
He has touted his record as the former chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
which worked to provide billions in extra funding to boost health care for veterans.
On the campaign trail, his wife, Jane, has often told the story of how Sanders decided
to run for president when a disabled veteran thanked him for helping him secure
benefits.

At the same time, Sanders has been criticized for defending the VA in the midst
of the 2014 scandal and initially dismissing its systematic failures. When pressed
on the issue in recent interviews, he admitted, "We should have done better."

Ted Cruz does not have a dedicated plan for veterans' issues on his public platform
but includes three brief bullet points in his defense plan. He calls the management
of the VA "unacceptable" and, like his Republican rivals, says he would expand veterans'
health care options.

Ben Carson was criticized by veterans' groups and the military community last August
when he proposed eliminating the department altogether.

"There is a lot of stuff we're doing that doesn't make any sense," he said. "We
don't need a Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans Affairs should be folded in
under the Department of Defense."

His website contains only a flashcard graphic under the veterans tab, with a short
quote promising to restructure the VA and allow veterans their choice of health
care provider.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich does not address veterans' issues on his campaign's public
platform, although he has touched on the topic in debates and speeches.